Sonando, owner and manager of Sombok Khmum (Beehive) radio station, was
arrested and formally charged with inciting crimes and discrimination and
disseminating false information in connection with anti-Thai riots in the
capital, Phnom Penh.

On the morning of January 29, about 400 people gathered at the Thai Embassy
in Phnom Penh to protest comments attributed to popular Thai actress Suwanan
Konying that Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat Temple should belong to Thailand.
These comments were first published by the Light of Angkor newspaper
and then circulated widely by the local media. Suwanan denies ever making
the statement, and In Chan Sivutha, editor of the Light of Angkor,
now concedes that the paper failed to verify the accuracy of its report.

By the evening of January 29, the protests had become violent, with demonstrators
looting Thai-owned businesses and setting fire to the Thai Embassy. At least
one person was killed and several people were injured, according to international
news reports. Amid the protests, a live Sombok Khmum radio talk show broadcast
a caller's statement that several Cambodian Embassy officials were killed
in Thailand in retaliation for the protests—allegations that proved to be
false. Prime Minister Hun Sen stated that the broadcast, which he said aired
at about 2:30 p.m., before the violence erupted, directly incited the riots.
However, station employees say the call was broadcast at night, after the
fury had died down. CPJ sources who witnessed the riots do not believe that
the radio broadcast directly caused the violence.

The next day, at about 7 p.m., two men went to Sonando's home and asked
the journalist to accompany them to a meeting with a government official,
according to the Phnom Penh­based Cambodian Center for Human Rights. However,
the men instead drove the journalist to the local police station, where
he was arrested. He was formally charged on January 31.

Sombok Khmum is Cambodia's only independent radio station. Sonando is a
former opposition politician who headed the Sombok Khmum Party, which collapsed
after losing legislative elections in 1998.

On February 1, In Chan Sivutha was also arrested and formally charged for
publishing the comments that were attributed to Suwanan. On February 11,
both journalists were released on bail.

On February 6, CPJ sent a letter of inquiry to the prime minister arguing
that the journalists were singled out unfairly. There is no comparable effort
under way to prosecute government officials who made inflammatory statements
during the protests and who did little to discourage the rioting. The Cambodian
government's selective prosecution appears to be an attempt to use the journalists
as scapegoats for an incident that became a major diplomatic fiasco, badly
damaging relations between Cambodia and Thailand.

FEBRUARY
1, 2003

In Chan Sivutha, Light of AngkorIMPRISONED

Sivutha, editor of the Light of Angkor newspaper, was arrested and
formally charged with inciting crimes and discrimination and disseminating
false information in connection with the anti-Thai riots that engulfed the
capital, Phnom Penh.

On the morning of January 29, about 400 people gathered at the Thai Embassy
in Phnom Penh to protest comments attributed to popular Thai actress Suwanan
Konying that Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat Temple should belong to Thailand.
These comments were first published by the Light of Angkor and then
circulated widely by the local media. Suwanan denies ever making the statement,
and Sivutha now concedes that the paper failed to verify the accuracy of
its report. By the evening of January 29, the protests had become violent,
with demonstrators looting Thai-owned businesses and setting fire to the
Thai Embassy. At least one person was killed and several people were injured,
according to international news reports.

On February 1, Sivutha was arrested and formally charged for publishing
the comments that were attributed to Suwanan. Earlier, on January 30, Mam
Sonando, owner and manager of Sombok Khmum (Beehive) radio station, had
been arrested on the same charges. On February 11, both journalists were
released on bail.

On February 6, CPJ sent a letter of inquiry to the prime minister arguing
that the journalists were singled out unfairly. There is no comparable effort
under way to prosecute government officials who made inflammatory statements
during the protests and who did little to discourage the rioting. The Cambodian
government's selective prosecution appears to be an attempt to use the journalists
as scapegoats for an incident that became a major diplomatic fiasco, badly
damaging relations between Cambodia and Thailand.

OCTOBER 18, 2003
Posted: October 20, 2003

Chou Chetharith, Ta Prum
KILLEDUNCONFIRMED

Chetharith, a deputy editor of the royalist FUNCINPEC party's Ta Prum radio
station, was killed by a gunman riding on the back of a motorcycle while
the journalist was on his way to work in the capital, Phnom Penh.

According to witnesses interviewed by Agence France-Presse, Chetharith,
37, was shot in the head at point-blank range in broad daylight. Local sources
tell CPJ that Ta Prum is known for its critical reporting of Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Sen, and that the station's director, Noranarith Anandayath,
is an adviser to FUNCINPEC party chief Prince Norodom Ranaridhh.

On Friday, the day before the shooting, the prime minister criticized Ta
Prum in the English-language Cambodia Times, accusing the station
of insulting his leadership.

Chetharith's murder came ahead of scheduled three-way talks between the
FUNCINPEC party, the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), and the ruling Cambodian
People's Party (CPP). The talks were canceled after the journalist's killing.
They had been aimed at ending a three-month political stalemate following
the July 27 elections, when Hun Sen and his CPP failed to garner a two-third
majority of the vote. By law, the CPP was required to form a coalition with
opposition parties but refused to do so.

No arrests have been made in the case, and Chetarith was buried on October
20 outside Phnom Penh. Sau Phan, a deputy general of the National Police
and a member of FUNCINPEC, told Agence France-Presse that an investigative
committee has been formed with FUNCINPEC and CPP party members to pursue
the case.